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Christmas 
in Sweden 

or 

A JffpBttnal of miglft 

BY 


SARAH GERTRUDE POMEROY 


ILLUSTRATED BY 

BERTHA D. HOXIE 



BOSTON 

DANA ESTES & COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 




Copyright, igri 

By Dana Estes & Company 
All rights reserved 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 



Electrotyped and Printed hy 
THE COLONIAL PRESS 
C-H. Simondi <5r= Co., Boston, U.S.A. 


©GU296001 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 


THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHT 

A TELEGRAM for you, sir.” Elfreda, the pretty Swedish 
maid, handed the envelope to Professor Edgecombe as the 
family were seated at breakfast one spring morning. Telegrams 
were not unusual in that household, so Dorothy and John, the 
Professor’s children, scarcely heeded the interruption and were 
unprepared for the excitement which this particular bit of yellow 
paper aroused in their quiet home. When their father had read 
the message, he passed it across the table to his wife, who dropped 
the sugar-tongs in her eagerness, as soon as she had glanced at 
the message. 

Oh, George,” she cried, it’s too good to be true that you 
really have the appointment.” 

“ What is it? ” cried both children in chorus, distracted from 
their conversation by the unusual excitement of their little 
mother. 

“ It means that we are all going to Sweden to spend father’s 
sabbatical year,” replied their mother. 

All of us? ” asked Dorothy quickly. She had not welcomed 
the period of rest called a sabbatical year which comes to most 
New England college professors once in seven years, because she 
remembered that many of her playmates had spent the year 
with relatives while their parents travelled in Europe, and home- 
loving little Dorothy dreaded a similar parting. 

5 


6 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 


Do you really mean that we are going too? ” asked John 
incredulously. 

“ That’s exactly what your mother means/’ said Professor 
Edgecombe. “ Mother and I couldn’t go away for a year and 
leave you children at home. Besides it is not going to be entirely 
a year of rest for me, for this telegram has brought me an ap- 
pointment to spend the year translating some stories of the old 
Norsemen into English. The old 
Icelandic document which I am to 
study is in Sweden and so we can 
settle there for the winter.” 

“ Hurrah ! hurrah ! ” cried John, en- 
tirely forgetful of table manners. “Just 
listen, Elfreda, we are all going to Swe- 
den, now what do you think of that?” 

Clash! batter! bang! the serving- 
tray fell to the floor and pretty, well- 
trained Elfreda stood unconscious of 
disaster, looking from one to another. 
“ Yes, it’s true, Elfreda,” said Mrs. 
Edgecombe, “ we are going to spend 
a year in your beautiful country and 
will have many questions to ask you 
about it.” 

By this time the maid had picked up the tray and begun to 
clear away the dishes, but tender-hearted little Dorothy noticed 
that, as she came and went during the meal, her eyelids were 
red and her face was tear-stained. 

“ What’s the matter, Freda? ” she asked kindly, as she ran 
into the kitchen after the meal was over, but she stopped short 
in alarm at the sight of Freda with her face buried in the roller- 
towel. 



CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 


7 


“ Leave us alone for a little while, Dorothy,” said Mrs. Edge- 
combe, thinking that she knew the cause of the trouble. Poor 
Freda was homesick, she thought, and the knowledge that her 
employers were going to the dear homeland while she remained 
in strange America was more than she could bear. 

“ Would you really like to go back to Sweden? ” inquired Mrs. 
Edgecombe, thoughtfully. “We are going to keep house there 
and I suppose I must find a maid.” But Freda shook her head 
while smiles broke through her tears and she blushed very red. 
Then she explained that she had promised to marry Eric, who 
had been her suitor for some time, but she had dreaded to “ give 
her notice ” to kind Mrs. Edgecombe, who had so patiently 
trained her, since she came into her kitchen, a bewildered little 
emigrant, two years previous. 

“ Then it wasn’t all homesickness,” asked Mrs. Edgecombe 
slyly when she had congratulated the blushing Freda. But 
Freda’s eyes filled again. “ No, ma’am, I wouldn’t go back to the 
old country to stay,” she said, “ but I would like to see my old 
mother and little brothers and sisters again.” 

“ Where do they live, Freda? ” inquired Mrs. Edgecombe. 
“ Perhaps we can go to see them and tell them about your 
happiness.” 

“ Oh, could you, ma’am, wouldn’t it be too far? ” cried Freda 
hopefully. 

“ If your home is near Upsala, I think we can arrange to see 
your people,” said Mrs. Edgecombe, “ for my husband is going 
to study some of the old manuscripts in the University there.” 
It appeared that she had lived near the old city and Freda began 
to plan joyfully about the presents which she would send to her 
dear ones. 

It seemed to the children as if the weeks would never pass, 
but, at length, the great day came when the Edgecombe family 


8 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 


stood on the deck of the big steamship which was to carry them 
across the ocean. Many of their friends had come to bid them 

Bon Voyage/’ so they were surrounded by a merry party. 
The warning whistle had just sounded for all visitors to go 
ashore and Dorothy was beginning to realize with a queer little 
lump in her throat that a year was a long, long time to be parted 
among the passengers and saw many amused glances turned 
from her favorite cousin, when she noticed a sudden commotion 
towards their own party. 

Her father and mother also turned, attracted by the noise, 
and the whole family was amazed at the sight of Freda and Eric, 
their faces red and determined as they pushed their way among 
the passengers, followed by an angry steward. The officer 
thought that the young foreigners, coming to see their friends in 
the steerage, had mistaken their way; but, although both Freda 
and Eric had themselves crossed in the steerage and were a 
little awed by the splendors of the first-class part of the ship, 
they were determined to get a last glimpse of the Edgecombes. 

When Freda had bidden them farewell, a week before, she had 
told Mrs. Edgecombe that she should be married within a week, 
so of course they were very much surprised to see her there. 
While Professor Edgecombe was explaining to the official, Freda 
told them that she had made Eric take her to New York on a 
wedding-trip, especially to see them sail. She had already en- 
trusted the children with a little box of presents for her family 
and now she proudly showed Mrs. Edgecombe a photograph of 
her husband and herself, asking her to give it to her old mother 
with her own hands. Mrs. Edgecombe promised readily and 
Freda left the ship content. The last thing that the children 
saw, as the dock faded from view, was Freda, waving her hand- 
kerchief in farewell. 

Their father left them in Paris, in the late summer, promising 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 


9 


that he would be ready to welcome them when they reached 
Sweden. First, however, Mrs. Edgecombe took the children to 
Germany, so that it was late October before they boarded a 
steamer at Lubec, bound for Stockholm. 

They would have liked to have stayed for awhile in this 
beautiful city, which is sometimes called The Venice of the 
North,” but their mother was anxious to get settled in her 
Swedish home, so the following morning, they boarded a train 
for Upsala. 

“ Are we really going to keep house just as we do at home? ” 
asked Dorothy, as the train left the rugged country near Stock- 
holm. ‘‘ I have rented an apartment for the winter,” replied 
their father, smiling, “ but you will find that it is quite different 
from America in many ways.” 

‘‘ I didn’t know that they had apartments in Upsala,” said 
John. “ I have read that the name means ‘ The Lofty Halls,’ 
and that the city is more old-fashioned than any other place in 
Sweden.” 

“ That is true,” said Professor Edgecombe, but Upsala has 
some modern houses, although it is a very ancient city. The great 
castle on the hill, which we will visit, the cathedral where we 
will attend service and some of the University buildings are 
grand enough to mean ‘ the lofty halls.’ ” 

Do the people wear native costume? ” asked Mrs. Edge- 
combe. 

“ No,” said her husband. “ Occasionally, perhaps, you will 
see a peasant wearing one of the pretty old-time costumes but, 
for the most part, even the peasants as well as the city people 
wear clothing much like ours.” 

Oh, I’m so sorry,” said Dorothy, for she had pictured to her- 
self little girls wearing quaint, gaily-colored garments like those 
that Freda had described to her. 


lO 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 


'' Never mind, Dolly,” said her father, pinching her cheek 
playfully. “You will find enough that is unusual to satisfy you, 
I think.” 

As the train wound through the beautiful farming-country, 
they caught occasional glimpses of beautiful Lake Malar, and 
Professor Edgecombe said that in the spring, they should go to 
Stockholm by boat and enjoy the trip on the lake. 

“ The weather is too cold for us to take that trip, now,” he 
said, “ and besides we want to get home before dark. You will 
soon find that the hours of daylight in Sweden at this time of 
the year are too precious to be used carelessly.” 

Before the children could ask for an explanation of this speech, 
the train had reached Upsala. On the platform stood a gentleman 
who greeted their father very cordially. Their father introduced 
him as Professor Bjerkander and added that he had been most 
kind in helping him to prepare their home in Upsala. He left 
them at the entrance of their new home, promising that his 
wife and children would call that afternoon. 

“ That is a mark of courtesy, indeed,” said Professor Edge- 
combe to his wife, “ for in this country it is the custom for 
strangers to call first and you see that Fru Bjerkander is going 
to conform to our usages.” 

While he was speaking, he pressed an electric bell beside the 
pair of great doors which reminded the children of the entrance 
to a stable. When they opened, however, they saw a good- 
natured portress, who smiled at them when their father said 
something to her in Swedish. 

They wxre delighted at the sight of the pleasant rooms opening 
before them, when they had climbed the stone stairs to the 
third floor. It had seemed impossible that they could ever make 
a cosy home in a house that seemed so grim and forbidding. 
Everything was in order, explained the smiling little maid in 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 


II 


broken English, and they found that her words were quite true. 
The table was set for their mid-day meal and, except for the 
unpacking of their trunks and the arrangement of their few books 
and pictures, the home was ready for them. 

“ How did you ever do it? ” exclaimed Mrs. Edgecombe 
delightedly to her husband. That gentleman shook his head. 
“ You will have to thank Fru Bjerkander,” he said. ‘‘ She 
helped me to find Stena, who has done it all under her direction.” 

“ Where did you 
find Stena? ” asked 
his wife, who was 
pleased with the neat 
maid. 

‘‘ She was waiting 
for us in the market- 
place,” replied her 
husband, and then ex- 
plained that he had 
heard that all ser- 
vants are engaged in 
Sweden during April 
and October. So he 
had gone to the mar- 
ket-place with Fru 

Bjerkander and had found Stena with many other lads and 
maids, each armed with a paper showing that they had their 
fathers’ written permission to go out to service. 

Very early in the afternoon, it seemed to the children, Fru 
Bjerkander came to call, bringing with her Helmer and Hedwig, 
her son and daughter, who were about the age of the Edgecombe 
children. Much to the relief of John and Dorothy, they found 
that their new acquaintances could speak English almost as 





12 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 


well as they could speak their own language, so they were soon 
chatting merrily together. 

They heard Fru Bjerkander explaining to their mother that 
she had been obliged to come early in order to take advantage of 
the daylight and this caused Hedwig to say to Dorothy, “ It’s 
too bad that you came to Sweden when we are having dark 
nights.” Dorothy looked bewildered, so Hed wig’s brother ha- 
stened to explain; “ You know we have most of our visitors in 
summer, when the daylight lasts half through the night. I dare 
say your father will take you up north to see the midnight sun, 
next summer.”. “ Oh, yes, I see what you mean now by dark 
nights,” said John. “ You mean they are long ones.” 

“ Yes, they are indeed,” said the children. ‘‘ Very soon it 
will be so dark at three o’clock in the afternoon that we must have 
the lights.” ‘‘ But, after all,” said Hedwig, “ if you had come in 
the summer time, you wouldn’t have been here for Jul-tide, and 
that is the jolliest time of the whole year. I can hardly wait for 
the season to come.” 

‘‘ Father told us we would have the longest Christmas we 
had ever celebrated,” said John, “ but we didn’t quite know what 
he meant.” “ Oh,” said Helmer, “ you only celebrate one Jul 
in your country, do you? Our fun commences on Christmas 
Eve, and the day after Jul we have what you would call a second- 
day Christmas, and then a third-day Christmas. In fact there is 
some kind of fun on foot until the thirteenth-day Jul or sometimes 
until twentieth-day Jul, which comes the thirteenth day of 
January.” 

Oh, my,” cried Dorothy wdstfully, what fun you must 
have when you live here and know people.” You’re going to 
have it too, this year,” said sweet little Hedwig, who had caught 
the longing note in Dorothy’s voice. Mother has told us that 
you are to share all of our Jul-tide frolics.” 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 


13 


‘‘ That is quite true,” added Mrs. Bjerkander as she rose to go. 
‘‘ My children have talked of nothing else but the coming of 
the young Americans ever since my husband first met their 
father. I hope they will be good friends.” 

“We think we are very fortunate to find such friends,” re- 
plied Mrs. Edgecombe, “ and now I shall have no fear of the 
children being lonely.” 

They all found the next few days really too short for all they 
v/ished to crowd into them. They visited the library of the 
University where their father was working daily and wandered 
through the strange streets, watching the throngs of students, 
who reminded them of the merry college boys in their own 
town. “ Only our boys would never keep their caps clean,” 
declared Dorothy, and their father laughed quite heartily at the 
thought as he said, “ You’re right, Dolly.” But strange to say, 
these lively students always managed to keep the little white 
velvet caps trimmed with a rosette of blue and yellow, the 
national colors, perfectly clean, and seemed very proud of this 
mark of distinction which they wore. 

One morning they visited the old castle on the hill, another day 
they went to market with their mother and Stena, who was quite 
bewildered in her efforts to be a polite servant and at the same 
time show her new mistress how to trade in this strange market. 

They discovered many odd things about their own new home. 
All the windows were covered with double windows and the 
cracks in the casements were covered with long strips of white 
gummed paper, pasted on to keep out any possible draught. 

Mrs. Edgecombe was dismayed, when she found that not 
one window in the whole apartment would open wide enough to 
let in the crisp cold air. 

Her feeling of horror was slight, however, compared to Stena’s 
when she discovered that the new foreign mistress had torn off 


14 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 


the paper and had a storm window removed from each one of the 
sleeping-rooms. When she found that the Americans slept all 
night with their windows wide open, the horror of the little maid 
knew no bounds. She predicted that they would all die within 
a month and was so distressed that Mrs. Edgecombe, who 
despaired of ever making her understand in the few words of 
Swedish and English which each could speak, explained the 
situation to Fru Bjerkander and asked her to tell Stena that they 
always slept with their windows open at home. 

Much to their amusement, however, pretty, cultured Fru 
Bjerkander seemed almost as horrified as the little maid. They 
found, in visiting her house, that she too had the national hatred 
of a draught and that all the windows of her pretty home were 
tightly sealed. 

Since she could not keep the windows closed, Stena seemed 
resolved to try and overcome the evil by keeping the rest of the 
house as warm as possible. Every morning, when they awoke, 
they found that the wood fire in the great porcelain stove in the 
living-room had been so carefully tended that there was already 
a bed of glowing coals in the oven-like opening at the base. The 
children liked to hurry out from their frosty bedrooms and finish 
dressing by the great white stove, while the rosy glow from the 
fire seemed very cheerful on those dark mornings when they had 
to breakfast by lamplight. 

Mrs. Edgecombe had feared that so much darkness would be 
depressing and, as the days grew shorter until, at length, it was 
necessary to light the lamps before three o’clock in the afternoon, 
she wondered if the children would not get homesick. 

But they were too much interested in the new sights and 
experiences to get lonely. Indeed, it seemed to them that the 
long, long evenings were not half long enough for the work they 
had to do. They were both busily engaged in finishing Christmas 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 


15 


presents for the dear ones at home, for they realized that it would 
take many days for their packages to travel to America. 

So the days grew shorter and shorter and the nights grew 
longer and longer as the month of December advanced and all 
Upsala was filled with preparations for the joyous Jul-tide. The 
Edgecombe household was no exception for Stena had insisted 
that the apartment must be thoroughly cleaned before the 
great festival. 

Mrs. Edgecombe could not quite see the necessity for such 
wholesale cleaning, since they had lived there less than six weeks 
and Stena was always polishing and scouring. But the little 
maid was so distressed at the thought of not cleaning that Mrs. 
Edgecombe let her have her way and the rooms were turned 
topsy-turvy while Stena swept, dusted and beat furniture to her 
heart’s content. 

Professor Edgecombe declared that it was worse than spring 
house-cleaning in America, for every house he passed in his 
daily walk to and from the University showed signs of the same 
upheaval. 

One morning, Stena told Mrs. Edgecombe that she was ready 
for the chimney-sweep and if Mrs. Edgecombe were willing, she 
had a little cousin who was making his living in that way and 
whom she would like to employ. Mrs. Edgecombe had expected 
this request, for she had heard that another strict precaution 
against fire in all Swedish cities was the law requiring that all 
chimneys should be swept clean very frequently. 

John had been much interested in the small, sooty-faced little 
lads whom he had occasionally seen running about the streets 
with their brooms in their hands. He had much wanted to make 
the acquaintance of one and now thought that he knew enough 
Swedish to ask him a few questions. 


i6 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 


But Stena was quite astonished when her mistress told her 
to show the little lad into the living-room, after his work was 
done. She shook her head determinedly. “ Too dirty, too dirty, 
she repeated with emphasis. 

'' Well,” laughed his mother, if you want to talk with him, 
John, I think you’ll have to go into the kitchen and see him there, 
when he has finished. Stena is quite right and I do not know as 
I blame her for not wanting him in her clean room. Tell her to 
let us know when he is ready.” 

As the kitchen door closed behind Stena, Mrs. Edgecombe 
reminded them that there was still one box which had not been 
unpacked. 

“ I have neglected to do so because I think that it contains 
only some of our heaviest winter clothing,” she said. “ But it 
has been so long since we packed it that I have almost forgotten 
what is in it. Suppose we open it, now.” 

John pried up the cover and Mrs. Edgecombe tore off the 
papers which covered the top. As she did so, Dorothy uttered 
an exclamation. 

Freda’s box,” she cried, “ Freda’s box! ” 

Sure enough, there was the package of toys and trinkets which 
Freda had selected with such loving care in the American stores 
and entrusted to them to give to her dear ones. 

“ We must find the family and give these to them, at once,” 
said Mrs. Edgecombe, but she looked puzzled when John in- 
quired, “ What’s the name and address? ” 

Perhaps it’s in the box,” suggested Dorothy. “ All I remem- 
ber is Freda’s telling us that her home was just outside of Up- 
sala.” But a careful search of the box revealed no address. The 
little presents were carefully marked for each member of the 
family but there was no surname on any one of them and noth- 
ing which gave them a clue of the name of the place where 





i8 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 


Freda had passed her girlhood and where she had told them a 
feeble old mother and several younger brothers and sisters were 
still living. 

“ I have an idea/’ said John. Where’s her picture, Mother? 
Perhaps she wrote it on the back of that.” 

Mrs. Edgecombe ran to her desk and began searching through 
her papers. At length she drew out the photograph of Freda, 
looking very happy in her wedding dress while Eric stood by 
seeming decidedly stiff and uncomfortable in his best clothes. 
But, alas! secure in the pride of her new name, Freda, the bride, 
had written very plainly “ Mrs. Eric Svenson ” on the back of 
the photograph, and the only address was the street and number 
of the little house in America where she and Eric had founded 
their new home. 

“ Well,” said Mrs. Edgecombe, brightening, “ at any rate, we 
can write to her and tell her what we need. There will be plenty 
of time to hear from her before we leave Sweden.” 

I suppose it is all we can do,” said John. 

“ But it’s too bad,” cried Dorothy. “ She talked so much of 
the Jul-tide, and I know that she intended these things for 
Christmas presents.” 

It is too bad,” said Mrs. Edgecombe. She stood the photo- 
graph on the table and her eyes filled with tears as she looked at 
Freda’s honest, happy face. Freda had been a faithful maid 
and Mrs. Edgecombe could not forget how faithful she had been 
to her in a time of illness and sorrow. 

There was a slight sound behind them and Mrs. Edgecombe 
turned to see Stena standing in a funny attitude, as if she had 
suddenly become frozen in the very act of making a courtesy. 
The short winter day had already darkened so that the lamps had 
been lighted and Mrs. Edgecombe had placed the photograph 
beneath the lamp where the strong light fell directly upon it. 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN iQ 

Before the astonished trio could utter a word, Stena had given 
a little gasp and, for once forgetful of manners, had made a 
wild dash into the kitchen and returned in a moment, dragging 
a very dirty and very much surprised little chimney-sweep 
behind her. Before he could show any shyness at his strange 
surroundings, she had pushed him close to the photograph and 
pointed at the pictured faces with her forefinger. 

Then the little sweep did a strange thing, for, heedless of his 
sooty fingers, he grasped the photo- 
graph in both his dirty hands while 
tears ran from his bright eyes, mak- 
ing white furrows down his black 
cheeks. Stena, too, careless of her 
clean room, caught him by the hands 
and they danced together in their ex- 
citement. 

What does this mean? ” It was 
Professor Edgecombe who asked the 
question as he came in from the hall. 

Perhaps you know enough Swe- 
dish to find out,” replied his wife. 

We don’t.” 

In a few minutes, however, they 
had discovered that Stena was own cousin to their Freda and 
that she had recognized her photograph instantly. Her first 
thought had been to show it to the little chimney-sweep, for he 
was Freda’s little brother, only a little chap when she had left 
home, but now big enough to add his share to the family income. 

The family had never allowed him to forget Freda and his 
greatest ambition was to earn money enough to pay his 
passage to America, when he should be old enough to go and 
join his big sister. 



20 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 


He hated to give up the photograph and loosened his hold 
reluctantly when Stena, at last, made him understand that the 
American lady had promised Freda to give it to his mother with 
her own hands and he must wait until she found a time to do so. 

“ But when can I? Where do they live? ” asked Mrs. Edge- 
combe. 

Stena replied that her aunt and cousins lived on a tiny farm 
about ten miles out of the city. Could we drive there? ” asked 
Mrs. Edgecombe of her husband. But Dorothy cried out, before 
he could answer. 

“ Oh, Mother, I’ve such a beautiful plan. You know the 
Bjerkanders have asked us to spend Christmas Eve and Christ- 
mas day with them, so that we cannot possibly have a tree of our 
own. But Helmer says that they keep the tree for many days 
and that often, on New Year’s day, they light it up again and 
have a party for some poor children. 

“ Can’t we do that here? Oh, do say we may! I do so want 
to decorate a Christmas tree.” 

Dorothy stopped, quite out of breath, and Professor Edge- 
combe looked at their mother, questioningly. 

I think it is a splendid plan,” she said, “ much better than 
any I could have suggested.” 

So Professor Edgecombe explained to Stena that she was to 
write and explain matters to her aunt and tell her that he would 
send a sleigh to bring the family to a Jul-tide party on New Year’s 
day, when they would tell them all about Freda. 

Stena’s face was wreathed with smiles and the eyes of the 
little chimney-sweep fairly stuck out of his head, as he bowed 
his thanks for the bright new coin which Professor Edgecombe 
gave him to pay for his work. 

And now the days were busy ones indeed. On the twentieth 
of December, the old market-place in Upsala was an interesting 


f 


» 




) > 
9 > > 





22 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 


place, for there the peasants from the country were erecting little 
booths, each roofed over with cotton drilling and lighted with 
lamps and lanterns. Here were sold many trinkets which the 
peasants had made in anticipation of the holiday season. 

Fru Bjerkander invited the Edgecombes to accompany her, 
when she took her own children to visit the market. She ex- 
plained that this special market was a very ancient one and 
that the peasants, according to an old custom, were permitted 
annua41y to sell their wares in this way from the twentieth of 
December, until the end of the month. 

The American children were especially delighted with the 
gingerbread booth where they bought quantities of the Jul- 
bocken (Yule-goats) and Julgrisen (Yule-pig). It was true that 
these gingerbread animals sometimes resembled each other in 
such a surprising way that it was hard to distinguish the pigs 
from the goats, but, in spite of that, Dorothy wanted to buy 
some to send to America. John told her that they would prob- 
ably dry up and break into pieces, long before they reached 
there, so she had to content herself with buying some for the 
New Year’s Christmas tree, as she called it. 

‘‘You can hang them on the branches, you know, and then 
give them to Freda’s little brothers and sisters to eat after- 
wards,” said Hedwig. “ That is the way we always do.” 

“ But why do they have goats and pigs at Jul-tide? ” asked 
John. “ Why, don’t you know? ” replied Helmer, in surprise. 
“ It is to remind us of Thor’s goats and Frey’s pig, which were 
sacred to our forefathers.” 

“ Why were they sacred? ” asked Dorothy. “ Why, the goats 
drew the giant chariot of Thor, the Thunderer, through the 
skies,” said Hedwig. 

“ The Yule-pig makes us think of Frey’s hog,” said Helmer. 
“ It was a magical hog whose golden bristles illuminated the 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 


23 


darkest night and it could run more swiftly than any horse on 
land or sea.” 

The American children looked rather bewildered and Dorothy 
asked why these animals should be especially remembered at 
Christmas-time. 

Helmer and Hedwig laughed outright at this question, for it 


seemed really funny to them that any one could be so ignorant of 
the old stories which they had known from their nursery days, 
but Fru Bjerkander said kindly, You must ask your father 
to tell you something about the ancient gods and their stories, 
for he is reading about them, every day, in the Edda.” 

So that evening, the children drew their chairs in front of 
the great white stove which seemed to be the very heart of 




24 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 


their home these cold winter evenings and clamored for the 
stories. 

“ Do you remember,” said their father, “ what I told you 
before we left America, that the favorite festival among the 
heathen people in this part of the world, before Christ was born, 
came at just this time of the year? ” 

“ Yes, we remember,” cried both children. Well,” said their 
father, “ I will tell you why they celebrated at this particular 
season: 

“ The ancient inhabitants of Sweden believed that there were 
many gods, but chief among them they worshipped Odin, the 
All-Father, Thor, the Thunderer, and Freya, the Sun-god. Odin 
was the god of war and was served by faithful maid-servants 
called the Valkyries, whose duty it was to bear the heroes slain 
upon the battle-field to Valhal, a beautiful region of peace. 
Thor wielded the thunders and lightnings, as his name implies, 
but Freya was the most popular of all, for upon his favor de- 
pended good harvest, fruitfulness and consequently pleasure. 
The people celebrated his birthday at the time of the winter 
solstice, for then the days began to lengthen and it seemed the 
appropriate time for the birthday of a Sun-god. For twelve 
days and nights they continued their feasting, but there was one 
night during the festival which was not joyful, for then the people 
remembered the anniversary of a great sorrow.” 

“ Oh, what was it? ” cried Dorothy, and “ Please go on ” said 
John as their father stopped for breath. Professor Edgecombe 
smiled at their interest, as he continued. 

‘‘ Balder the Beautiful was beloved by gods and men because 
he represented goodness and made everything bright and cheer- 
ful. Some scholars connect him with Freya and say that he 
represented the bright summer sun. I said that everybody loved 
him, but that was not quite true, for he had one enemy, and, as 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 


25 


you might imagine, that was Loki, the god of evil. One night 
Balder dreamed that he was to die, and when he told his dream 
to his mother, Frigg, she was so distressed that she made all 
things animate and inanimate swear that they would not injure 
her son. From that time on, it was the favorite pastime of the 
gods to throw stones and other missiles at Balder, because he 
seemed invulnerable and none of these things could injure 
him. 

“ But wicked old Loki knew that there was one little plant 
which Frigg had overlooked when she was exacting her oath and 
so he plotted to kill Balder. He gathered some of the mistletoe 
berries, that seemed too small and insignificant to do any harm, 
and gave them to Hoor, the blind brother of Balder, who could 
not share in the fun on account of his infirmity. ‘ Come,^ said 
Loki, ‘ do like the rest; show honor to Balder by casting this 
trifle at him and I will direct your hand.’ Hoor did as he was 
bidden and Balder fell dead, pierced through by the mistletoe. 

“ Now it happened that the death night of Balder fell on one 
of the longest nights in the year and the people believed that the 
darkness came because the God of Light was dead. So, on that 
night, they made great sacrifices and offered up prayers that 
they might not lose the light. Especially if the harvests had 
failed or the huntsmen had been unfortunate in the season just 
past did they offer sacrifices to Thor beneath an oak which was 
sacred to the Thunderer. For they thought that he was par- 
ticularly angry at the people because he was so grieved at the 
death of Balder the Beautiful. 

Then, as the days began to grow longer and the nights to 
grow shorter from that very date, the people thought that their 
prayers had been answered and so, every year, on the anniver- 
sary of his death, they repeated the ceremony and the light 
never failed them. 


26 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 


“ Of course we understand that the sun has reached his 
southern lirnit at this time of the year and is returning on his 
northward journey, but the old idea of making Jul-tide the Fes- 
tival of Light still prevails among the Swedes, who know that 
now the worst of the darkness is over and that slowly but surely 
the sun is coming back to them.” 

“ Well told,” exclaimed Professor Bjerkander, who had entered 
in the midst of the story. “ My wife has mentioned the chil- 
dren’s interest and I have come to see how you would like to take 
a sleigh-ride out to the burial-place of the old gods, on Christmas 
day.” The children declared that they should like it above all 
things and so the invitation was accepted. 

“You must come early to our house, on the morning of 
December 24th, if you want to join in one of our national cus- 
toms,” said Fru Bjerkander, when Christmas week had at last 
arrived. “ To-morrow we celebrate ‘ dipping day.’ ” 

“ What does she mean by that? ” asked Dorothy of her 
mother. “ We will have to go and find out, dear,” said her 
mother, “for I have no more idea what she means than you 
have.” 

When the Edgecombe family arrived at the home of their 
friends the next morning, they were ushered into the dining-room, 
for the living-room was locked and darkened. They all thought 
it very odd that there were no signs of any preparations for a 
meal for it was almost noon. Just at twelve, however, Fru 
Bjerkander invited them into the kitchen, where they were soon 
seated about a well-spread table. Their hostess then explained 
in English that it was an old custom all over Sweden for em- 
ployers and servants to dine together on the day before Christ- 
mas, and rich and poor alike ate this meal in the kitchen. “ I 
still fail to understand why you should call it ‘ dipping-day,’ ” 
said Professor Edgecombe. 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 


27 


“ I will show you,” said Fm Bjerkander, rising. She took 
from the stove the kettle in which the ham and pork, the chief 
dishes of the dinner, had been cooked. As she passed it to each 
one, everybody dipped a bit of bread in the sizzling fat in which 
the meat had been cooked and ate it with much glee. “ On this 
day we must all doppaigrytan,” she said, and Hedwig translated 
the expression for them by saying “ That means that we must 
all dip in the kettle.” 

“ But why do you do this? ” asked Professor Edgecombe. 

I do not know,” replied Professor Bjerkander, “ unless it is 
because we always have ham and pork at Jul-tide in remem- 
brance of the Jul-boar, which was always roasted whole at the 
heathen festival.” 

The short afternoon was soon over and, a few hours later, the 
children were admitted to the living-room, where the beautiful 
spruce tree stood in all its glory. The Edgecombes had seen 
many Christmas trees, but it seemed to them that none had ever 
seemed so beautiful as this one with its brilliant lights and 
graceful trimmings. 

The children joined hands about it and danced through the 
rooms and around and around the tree, until they were out of 
breath. Then the presents were distributed from the tables 
which stood piled high with gifts beneath the tree, and the 
Americans were surprised to find so many bearing their own 
names. Each gift was sealed and tied daintily, while all were 
accompanied by some appropriate little verse, for the Swedes 
think that no gift is quite complete unless there is a little poem 
with it. 

When, at length, the Edgecombe family went home, they met 
parties of merry masqueraders who were joking together and 
having the best of times as they delivered packages from house 
to house. They understood that these were the servants, who 


28 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 


were allowed to amuse themselves in this way while they did 
their duty of delivering their master’s gifts. 

Very early the next morning, they all started for the old 
cathedral to attend matins, the early service which good 
Lutherans always attend on Christmas morning. The streets 
were still dark and the lights of the cathedral shone out brightly 
as they approached the great open doorways. But, in spite of 
this, they were quite unprepared for the burst of brilliancy which 
met their gaze when they entered the church. Everywhere they 
gazed was a light, and the children said that now they understood 
why so many of their Swedish friends still referred to Jul-tide 
by its old-fashioned name of the Festival of Light. 

Before the morning was far advanced, the Bjerkanders had 
called for them and they were all snugly packed into the great 
roomy sleigh drawn by prancing horses which were covered with 
white nets and decorated with nodding plumes. It seemed to 
the children that even the horses acted as if they knew it was 
holiday time, for they danced along so gaily. 

The three miles were quickly covered and they came to the 
place where stand the three great mounds which the Swedes say 
mark the graves of Odin, Thor and Freya, the great gods of their 
forefathers. 

‘‘ Were they really buried here? ” asked Dorothy in awe. 

‘‘Probably not,” said her father; “it is generally supposed 
that the mounds really mark the graves of ancient kings.” 

Then Professor Bjerkander took them to the little Christian 
church that stands on the site of the old heathen temple and 
the children tried to imagine the great halls glittering with gold 
and silver and filled with people offering sacrifices to ThOr the 
Terrible, while they mourned for Balder the Beautiful. 

So they drove back into the city, their minds full of the 
Norse gods while their hearts were thankful that the days of that 








30 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 


wild religion were over and that the birthday of the Prince of 
Peace was the day they were celebrating. 

For dinner, they had the three chief dainties of the season, 
lusk-fish which had been prepared by heating for several days 
in wood-ashes, rice sweetened and flavored with cinnamon, and 
roast goose. The children missed the roast turkey and cran- 
berry sauce which their own Grandma always cooked but they, 
were hungry and did ample justice to their Swedish dinner. 

Second-day Christmas and third-day Christmas passed all too 
quickly and the Edgecombe children had almost as good a time 
as on the great day itself. For now their friends, like themselves, 
were free to skate and ski and enjoy all the winter sports of that 
northern land. Amidst all their pleasures, they prepared for 
their party, which was to be the crowning feature of the week. 
A beautiful spruce tree was decorated for the occasion and Mrs. 
Edgecombe bought plenty of Julbocken and Julgrisen to trim 
it, with other dainties peculiar to the season. To Freda’s little 
store of gifts she added others of her own selection, and invited 
the Bjerkander children to help entertain the guests, for she 
thought that she might have to call upon them to help her deliver 
Freda’s messages. And so it proved, for when they came, they 
could only smile and courtesy to Freda’s mistress. Stena had 
to talk for them, but her English was limited, and so the Bjer- 
kander children acted as interpreters. 

The guests seemed very grateful for their gifts and delighted 
with the tree, but nothing pleased them as Freda’s own presents, 
and it seemed as if they would wear the photograph out, as they 
passed it from one to the other, admiring it and chatting about 
“ Freda’s man.” When they went home, Freda’s mother thanked 
Mrs. Edgecombe for her kindness with tears in her eyes and an 
expression of gratitude on her face which needed no translation 
into English. They asked the Americans to come and see them 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 


31 


and Professor Edgecombe promised that, when the summer days 
came, before they returned home, they would drive out and visit 
the little red cottage which had been Freda’s girlhood home. 

So they went away happily and the Edgecombe family, 
having bidden farewell to their other guests, gathered to talk it 
over in the light of the glowing fire. 

“ To-morrow, we must all take time to write to the home- 
folks about our Christmas in Sweden and we mustn’t forget to 
tell every detail of the 
novel experiences we have 
enjoyed,” said their mo- 
ther. ‘‘ Perhaps we wi}l 
each take some particular 
part of the celebration to 
describe and then no one 
of us will have to write 
too much.” 

‘‘ I want to tell about 
^ Dipping Day,’ ” said 
Professor Edgecombe. “ I 
choose to write about 
the Julbocken and the 
Julgrisen,” said Dorothy. 

“ Then you had better write all about Freda’s family and 
our New Year’s party,” said John to his mother, ‘‘ for I would 
like to write out the story of Balder the Beautiful. I think 
writing it out would help me to remember it and I don’t want to 
forget it.” 

“ I am quite satisfied with my part of the letter-writing,” 
said his mother, “ for entertaining Freda’s family was the 
happiest part of the week for me. How glad they will all be to 
get the letter,” she added softly. 



32 


CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN 


So with tender thoughts of the friends at home, they all sat 
quiet for awhile, gazing into the depths of their golden fire and 
thinking that the Swedish Festival of Light had indeed been the 
merriest Yule-tide of their lives. 






A.UG 25 19*' 



./ 




. \ 
3 
'.M 


One copy del. to Cat. Div. 



AUG 26 







